Cold-storage chamber or refrigerator



(No Model.) f

G. O. ROBERTS.

GOLD STORAGE CHAMBER 0R REFRIGERATOR.

No. 386,949. Patented Mar. 2, 1886.

UNITED STATES ATENT @rricn.

GEORGE OLAPP ROBERTS, OF NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT.

COLD-STORAGE CHAMBER OR REFRIGERATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 336,949, dated March 2,1886.

Application filed October 26, 1885. Serial No. 180,934. (No model.)Patented in Denmark June 17, 1885, No.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE O. ROBERTS, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city of New Haven, in the county of New Haven and Stateof Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCold- Storage Chambers or Refrigerators, (for which I have obtainedLetters Patent in Denmark,

hearing date June 17, 1885,) of which the fol lowing is thespecification.

My invention relates to improvements in the construction of cold storagechambers or rooms, more particularly designed for preserving meat in thecarcass, but also useful for preserving any other perishable articles,such as fruit, &c.

My invention has for its object to effect an economy in the consumptionof ice, to maintain an efficient circulation of cold air throughout therefrigerating-chamber, and to regulate such circulation according torequirements; also, to carry off the water draining from the ice andutilize it for the purpose of cooling the air. v

The invention comprises the general construction and arrangement of therefrigerator, and the special means of accomplishing the various objectsabove mentioned.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawing, forming part of thisspecification, wherein a transverse vertical section of the refrigeratoris shown.

A A are the ice-chambers, in which the blocks of ice are stacked andrest upon a wooden floor with openings therein, or upon wooden gratingsa, supported upon transverse girders b at suitable intervals. Thesegratings a of the wooden floor serve solelyas supports for the ice. Theopenings between the gratings a or in the floor should only besufficient to allow the water produced by the melting of the ice to passthrough. The outer walls, 0, of the said chambers are double, beingconstructed of two layers of matched boarding, with the interveningspace filled with sawdust or other non-conductor of heat. The innerwalls, d, between the two chambers are made of iron plates or sheetswith a space, (2, between, for the descent of a current of cooled am andtop, for the circulation of air.

from,.so as to leavelspaces f andg at the sides As shown in the drawing,the passages f and e communicate below with the chamber B, and abovewith the top passage, and as the walls of the passage f arenon-conducting, while those of passage e are highly conducting, thecirculation of air is determined through the said passages, as indicatedby the arrows, f being the upward and e the downward passages. Tofurther aid the circulation, the walls f of the passages f may be madewithout the packing, as represented in the drawings. In either casethetop of the ice-chambers A would be provided with metal covers A, toprevent the air coming in contact with the ice and aid in determiningthe circulation. By this construction the air is prevented from cominginto direct contact with the ice, whereby the waste of ice which wouldresult from such contact is prevented without any material diminution ofthe refrigerating power. The lower ends of the passagesfareprovided withhinged valves h, whereby the thoroughfare through the said passages maybe closed at will in case it is desired to use only one of theice-chambers at a time. A valve, 2', is hung from the top of the passage9 centrally over the downward passage e, and may be swung to one side orthe other, in order to cut off the communication of said passage withthe passage above the ice-chamber not in use.

In case it is desired to use only the corre-- sponding half of thestorage-chamber B, a fixed or removable partition, 70, would be placedbeneath the downward passage 6, and provided with a valve, Z, which maybe swung to one side or the other, as the case may be, to cut offcommunication with that part of the chamber not in use.

When both ice-chambers are in use, the valves B is the chamber in whichthe meat, or other i and 1 would stand in line, and the valves h wouldhang down, as shown at the right of Fig. 1, in which position they serveto separate the ascending currents from those circulating beneath theice-chambers. The water dripping from the ice-chambers is received upona series of inclined trays or pans, m, discharging into gutters n.

lation around the ice-chamber and throughout the storage-chamber isautomatically commenced and maintained without direct contact with theice, beneath the ice-chamber a series of drip-pans, and outlets arrangedfor air-circulation, and the communication be- Beneath the lowermosttray or pan of the series, a wood partition, 0, is fixed, about parallelto said tray or pan and at such distance therefrom as to leave space forthe circulation of a current of air in contact with the under side ofsaid tray, as indicated by the arrows, whereby the refrigcrating powerof the drip-water is utilized to the utmost.

What I claim as new and useful and my invention, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is-- 1. A refrigerator consisting of an inclosed ice andstorage chamber, the former with metal cover and surrounded byair-passages from and to the latter, the passages for up wardcirculation formed with non-conducting walls, and the passages fordownward circulation with conductingwalls, whereby circutween the iceand storage chambers and the consequent circulation controlled by valvesor dampers, all substantially as specified.

2. A double refrigerator consisting of corresponding pairs of ice andstorage chambers, the ice-chambers with metal covers and surrounded byair-passages, between them a single air-passage with conducting-wallsfor downward circulation, and beneath each of them a series ofdrip-pans, and outlets arranged for air-circulation, the communicationbetween the ice and storage chambers and the consequent circulationcontrolled by valves or dampers anddivided by partitions, all substantially as specified.

, GEORGE CLAPP ROBERTS.

Witnesses:

EDMUND D. HENNESSY, FRANK H. HYATT.

